Touch-sensitive displays (also known as “touch screens”) are well known in the art. Touch screens are used in many electronic devices to display control buttons, graphics, text, and to provide a user interface through which a user may interact with the device. A touch screen detects and responds to contact on its surface. A device may display one or more control buttons, soft keys, menus, and other user-interface elements on the touch screen. A user may interact with the device by contacting the touch screen at locations corresponding to the user-interface (UI) elements with which they wish to interact.
One problem associated with using touch screens on portable devices is quickly and easily finding a desired user-interface element. Considering the rich functionalities the application can provide, there may be lots of UI elements (e.g. buttons, knobs, . . . , etc.) on a display. A major problem is that it may be troublesome for user to find the right UI element in a timely manner, especially in a mission critical situation. Therefore a need exists for a method and apparatus for managing a touch-screen device that makes it easier and more time-efficient for a user to find a particular UI element.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. It will further be appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required.